The number of gastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries conducted in the United States more than quadrupled between 1998 to 2002, from 12,775 procedures to 70,256, researchers report.
And experts at the American Society for Bariatric Surgey estimate that that number may have doubled again since then, to more than 140,000 bariatric procedures performed in 2004.
"The observed increase in bariatric surgery rates is related in part to an increase in the utilization of the laparoscopic technique by surgeons and greater acceptance by patients of the minimally invasive option," the study authors conclude in the December issue of Archives of Surgery.
Bariatric surgery is the only effective sustained method of weight loss for people who are morbidly obese, according to the University of California, Irvine researchers who conducted the study.
They believe the dramatic increase in bariatric surgery in recent years is linked to the increasing use of minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques.
The California group pored over data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years covered by the study.
With the rise of obesity, and better, less invasive procedures, this shouldn't shock anyone.
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